Search - Ozzy Osbourne :: Blizzard of Oz

Punked

Ljubo | 04/09/2008

(1 out of 5 stars)

"First of all, I had both vinyls (blizzard of ozz, diary of a madman) in the eighties, but sadly I sold, trade and/or lost them.



Tired of having sucky bad-compressed mp3s in my PC, I decided to order them both by Amazon. Let's have both CDs! I saw that these were the 95 reissues (with Lee Kerslake & Bob Daisley in the rythm section). I says here: original CD reissues from 1995. Good deal because you can't find them anywhere.



But - alas! - I received those goddamned 2002 versions with Sharon & Kelly on bass and drums!



Like we say in my good ol'town: Punked!"

Ozzy Osbourne's solo debut is still a masterpiece almost 30

Terrence J. Reardon | Lake Worth (a west Palm Beach suburb), FL | 08/17/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Former Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne released his first solo album entitled Blizzard Of Ozz in the United Kingdom in late 1980 and here in the United States in the Spring of 1981.

After being dismissed from Black Sabbath in 1979, Ozzy continued to spiral out of control until he was saved by a lady named Sharon Arden (who was the daughter of Black Sabbath's then-manager Don Arden (and eventually became Ozzy's often controversial manager and later wife)). She and Ozzy put together a band that included ex-Uriah Heep drummer Lee Kerslake, ex-Rainbow and Uriah Heep bass player Bob Daisley and a then-22 year old guitar virtuoso Randy Rhoads from Los Angeles, California all came into his life and helped his launch a solo career that would be big and yes NOTORIOUS!

We begin with a backwards gong effect before the sure fire riff of "I Don't Know". This is straight-up metal which featured some of the Ozzman's most memorable singing and Bob Daisley's killer lyrics. It's not at all surprising to find that this one still gets played on the radio on a very regular basis. Nice opener. Next is "Crazy Train" which is arguably Ozzy's most famous solo song ever, and once you listen to it, it really isn't that hard to see why. From Ozzy's maniacal echo-plexed opening laugh and vibra-slap to Randy's killer riff and superb vocals, I can see why this song is a classic in the rock and roll world. Next is the Ozzman's first attempt at a ballad called "Goodbye To Romance". This is one of my favorite tracks and Ozzy's vocals plus Randy's melodic rhytm playing and middle solo is amongst his best. Also, Don Airey's ending synthesizer solo sounds triumphant. The instrumental "Dee" is next and is basically a Randy Rhoads classical guitar solo and showing why he was one of rock's greatest guitarists. Next is the first half closing and possibly Ozzy's most controversial song ever "Suicide Solution". Supposedly, Ozzy whote the song as a hidden message for fans to commit suicide. In fact, it was written in tribute to Ozzy's fallen friend, Bon Scott of AC/DC, who died in February of 1980. The song supposedly contained subliminal messages of "get the gun, get the gun" and "shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot". It was acutually vocal phrasings. This song is a killer rocker with a powerful Rhoads riff and stellar playing from messieurs Kerslake and Daisley.

The album's second half starts with "Mr. Crowley" which is a classic metal tale about the legendary satanist Aleister Crowley and became a radio staple in later years and a favorite album track. From Don Airey's awesome opening organ-style synthesizer solo right down to Randy Rhoads' guitar solos at the end, this song ROCKS. Next is "No Bone Movies" which is a basic hard rocker from Ozzy. I have no complaints with this song whatsoever, in that I feel it is an excellent song. Also, hearing Randy perform a rare slide guitar solo was excellent. The epic "Revelation (Mother Earth)" follows and is both eerie and melodic at the same time. This song is my favorite on the album and may be a slower track, but its eerie nature and subject matter and ending solo section from Rhoads and Daisley and Kerslake keep it from being what you could call a ballad. The song, in some places musically, is reminiscent of "She's Gone", a song Ozzy recorded with Black Sabbath in 1976 on their Technical Ecstasy album. We then rock out with Blizzard's closing track the rocking "Steal Away (The Night)". This track rocks and rules!

Blizzard of Ozz was also a huge success commercially becoming Ozzy's first Gold album (eventually Quadruple Platinum selling album) in the US within days of its release after a controversial incident with his record label involving the biting off of the head of a live bird at the CBS Records offices but the music is why this album is timeless.

This original version, nor the superb 1995 Bob Ludwig remaster (this issue I am reviewing) of BoO is no longer available after a spat between Sharon and ex-Ozzy members Daisley and Kerslake over owed royalties caused Sharon to re-record all of BoO's backing tracks.

This original issue of Blizzard is RECOMMENDED!"

Mental wounds not healing...

Mark H. | Hanson, MA USA | 03/05/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ozzy Osbourne's legendary debut `Blizzard of Ozz' is now thirty years old which is unbelievable considering this record was one of the cornerstones of heavy metal's revival in the Eighties. The story of Ozzy's comeback after his exit from Black Sabbath has been well documented as well as his competition with his old band which was quite heated during this era. It is safe to say that while Sabbath held there own with Dio at the mike there is no question which act triumphed in the end. Fortunately for Ozzy, the success of his first two records set the tone while later LP's were not as consistent. Obviously a huge key to the success of those records was the contributions of the late Randy Rhoads and the origins of his partnership with the Oz have been told ad nauseum in other forums so I won't recount them here. What I will say is that Randy's playing since the days of Quiet Riot to `Blizzard' improved dramatically. In fact the two Quiet Riot records were something of a disappointment and it is hard to believe this is the same man! Randy was nothing short of a visionary in his playing on the first two Oz records and it is here that his reputation was built and well deserved. Several players had brought classical music styles to heavy rock (Ritchie Blackmore most notably) but Randy's sound was unique. So many classic songs that have become rock mainstays litter this record including "Crazy Train" which is without a doubt Ozzy's most lasting contribution to pop culture, "I Don't Know", "Mr. Crowley" and "Suicide Solution" (the last two considerably controversial, the latter the subject of a lawsuit). It is no surprise that `Blizzard of Ozz' is Ozzy's most celebrated and successful recording and a true milestone in what would to be a golden age for metal."